Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
ThinkFree Office 3.0 is a Java - based practical program that provides much of the ability of Microsoft Office at a much broken Mary Leontyne Price . The programme is purport at users wait for an inexpensive , basic word processor and spreadsheet software , as well as those who have to edit out documents produce with Microsoft ’s Office cortege .
ThinkFree Office dwell of three parts : Write for word processing , Calc for spreadsheets , and Show for presentations . However , the programs do not plant a rooms in the same manner as Office 2004 : with ThinkFree Office , the separate programs are not interoperable , so you’re able to not abbreviate and glue or cart and drop elements between applications . The modish variant is n’t really a substantial upgrade from the late incarnation , but it ’s still a solid program if you do n’t need the high - end feature film of Microsoft Office .
If you ’ve used Java - based programs in the past , you know that they run to be slow . But that ’s nothing to worry about here . As we noted in our reassessment of ThinkFree Office 2.0 ( ) , this program is no tortoise when it comes to speed . Write , Calc , and Show lode quickly and work about as tight as any non - Java software . Still , it ’s wise to make certain you have the latest Java update installed to ensure optimal performance .
ThinkFree Write
As a general - purpose word central processing unit , Write does an fantabulous job . It plays well with Word files and provides almost all of the pecker you need to create documents . This includes reenforcement for embedded images , text box , footnote , and delineate .
There are a few negative , though . At present , Write does a poor task of import styles from Microsoft Word ( ) templates and miss the ability to track changes made during redaction ; ThinkFree allege that these feature film should be useable in a future release .
ThinkFree Show had difficulty handling introductory PowerPoint files : observe the way it yield the drop vestige .
In addition , Write currently does not corroborate sure vulgar keyboard combinations , such as Option - Shift - Dash ( which forms an pica em - elan ) . Also , you ca n’t drag and spend selected text from one part of a document to another . ThinkFree says that it will address these egress in a succeeding outlet .
ThinkFree Calc
Calc is the standout app of the ThinkFree ternion . I was able to open up and manipulate several unlike type of Microsoft Excel ( ) documents without a hitch . Plus , the program easy handle hundreds of deliberation formula , from simple mathematics to complicated amortization tables .
The previous version of Calc was unable to deal with 3 - D graphs — that ’s no longer an issue . ThinkFree Office now lets you make 3 - D graphs as well as capable those generated in Excel . It also boast funding for pellucid graphics .
In fact , the only remain weakness in Calc is performance . It ’s not horribly slow , however I did notice a brief but perceptible pause when update deliberation and tabbing through prison cell .
ThinkFree Show
ThinkFree ’s display program remains the weak link in the parcel . As with the former version , Show continues to do a piteous job of handling drop shadow and some embedded graphics . For representative , when I opened file created in Microsoft PowerPoint ( ) , cliff - shadow text did not return correctly . Furthermore , when spread out PowerPoint files , the programme sometimes did not display fonts aright , and often space lineament improperly .
ThinkFree says it plan to posit these outcome . At this percentage point , though , you ’ll only be satisfied with Show if you ’re edit or create introductory presentations . For anything secure , you ’ll want to expend PowerPoint or Apple Keynote ( ) .
ThinkFree Online
ThinkFree is preparing to offer one more interesting choice : the power to access all of these apps over the Internet . ( The Java applet shipment from a Web Thomas Nelson Page on ThinkFree ’s site , allowing you to use the applications from a web browser . Thus , any operation you may now perform on your desktop can be done in the web browser app window . ) ThinkFree Online is still in beta at this composition , and the company has not give a release date .
Macworld’s buying advice
ThinkFree Office 3.0 is not a monolithic upgrade from the former version . And it ’s not the perfect solvent for everyone , especially if you want to create presentations or you regularly use Word ’s style or Track Changes features . However , if you have to create and edit Word and Excel documents — but you do n’t want all of the eminent - close features available in those programs — ThinkFree Office offer a executable and cheap alternative .
